West Port staff and students mourn teen who died in crash

Staff members and students at West Port High School were in mourning Friday after a student described as very likeable and a hard worker died Thursday in a traffic crash.

By Austin L. MillerStaff writer

Staff members and students at West Port High School were in mourning Friday after a student described as very likeable and a hard worker died Thursday in a traffic crash.Brandon Andrew Garner, 16, lost control of the white 2002 Chevy S-10 pickup he was driving on County Road 484 while on his way home from school, according to Florida Highway Patrol troopers. The vehicle hit an oak tree off the side of the roadway, which was wet from rain, troopers said. The crash occurred near Marion Oaks Boulevard.Garner's truck was heading east in the right lane while a 2010 Hyundai Elantra was traveling the same direction in the left lane. Garner lost control and sideswiped the car before his truck struck the tree, troopers said.Antonia Santiago, who was driving the Hyundai, said the truck sideswiped her car, went into the air and hit the tree.Linda Nuccio, a ninth-grade teacher at the school, said Friday that Brandon "touched my heart.""He really wanted to get good grades," she said. "He was a magnet for other students. I'm going to miss him."She said Brandon's death has been "difficult" for his classmates.Coach Ryan Hearn said Brandon played freshman football this past season; he was a linebacker and played defensive line."He was a tremendous young man for the school and for our program," Hearn said. "Every day he went out there, he played to the fullest and worked very hard and loved the game."Asked what he will miss the most about Brandon, the coach replied, "just him as a person."Principal Jayne Ellspermann said guidance counselors and grief counselors from the school district were available to talk with students Friday and were present at a faculty meeting. She said they are working to make sure everyone — staff and students — was being cared for.Ellspermann said it was "very hard" for everyone who knew Brandon. "He was a "very likeable student, and those who knew him are devastated. They've lost a friend," she said."We want to express our deepest condolences to his family, and our thoughts and prayers are with them," she said, adding that while the school has lost a member of its family, the boy's family has lost a child and a son.Brandon's parents, who were at the crash scene late Thursday afternoon and were visibly distraught, could not be reached Friday for comment.Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118 or austin.miller@starbanner.com.